Apply Now for our In-Person Infant Toddler & Family Child Care CDA Credential Course. This 120 hour course is the first step to becoming a CDA- Child Development Associate. Funded by the Westchester County Office for Women. To learn more
click here

#2 - Field Trip Supervision

Now that summer is here you want to make sure that you and your staff follow the supervision guidelines for field trips. Make eye-to-eye contact with children at all times. Make sure you have your attendance records/

roster and take attendance when you reach your destination and before you leave. While on the field trip take name-to-face every 5

minutes if you are mingling with the public. We suggest you have the children wear a shirt with a certain color/design on the day of the field trip. Never let children enter public restrooms alone; make sure you enter the restroom with the children so try to have male and female staff or caregivers if possible. Children age 3 and older should be instructed on the use of the "buddy system". In the end, no child should be unsupervised at any time.

Recently a child was left unsupervised in a vehicle which led to a fatal accident. View the story here and learn more about protecting children in vehicles on the below website.

Barbara Simone and Sara Caldwell from the Westchester County Department of Health just did a great training for our staff on Lead Prevention. We look forward to working with them further on getting the word out about the dangers of lead poisoning and key steps for keeping children safe. Check out these resources to keep your program "Lead Safe".

Last year's "Calls for Kids" Campaign was very successful, leading to the additional $1.6 million in the child care budget for 2018. Our "2019 Calls for Kids" Campaign will get underway in the fall, and we are hoping to recruit new programs! We are particularly eager to come to any special parent/family events you may have to hear from your parents about child care costs and to let them know how they can help advocate for more affordable child care.

The New York State Pyramid Model Leadership Partnership team is supporting the Early Care & Learning Council (ECLC) initiative entitled "Healthy Child Care, Healthy Communities". This initiative aims to strengthen child care by developing NYS-specific tools and materials that promote behavioral health in child care.

All early learning programs (FCC, GFCC, PreK, Head Start, Child Care) are being asked to participate in the survey and respond by August 1, 2018. This brief survey will help us all better understand and respond to the needs of providers supporting young children who exhibit challenging behaviors.

Survey responses are confidential and results will be summarized by the national organization, Child Care Aware to help improve practices that focus on behavioral healthy. Compiled results will be shared by ECLC and the Pyramid Model State Leadership Team. No individual responses will be shared.

Not all sunscreens are safe, even the ones that are sold specifically for children.

Many sunscreens contain harmful ingredients that are health hazards. These harmful ingredients may result in hormone disruption, skin irritations, allergies, lung irritation and skin penetration, just to name a few.

This info is from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The attached is EWG's Guide to Safer Sunscreens. It contains which ingredients & products to look for and which to avoid.
EWG rates the safety of sunscreens. The best score is 1 and the worst score is 10. Here is the link for best scoring sunscreens.

Here are quick tips for choosing sunscreens:

No Spray Sunscreens

No Super-High SPFs (not greater than 50)

No Oxybenzone and other Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

No Retinyl Palmitate

No Combined Sunscreen/Bug Repellents

No Sunscreen towelettes or powders

No Tanning Oils

Here is more valuable information and resources from EWG. You can also search for information regarding the sunscreen you currently use.

Call us to update your profile to be sure you're receiving parent referrals from us.

(914)761-3456 x140 or x117

If you prefer, you may also update your profile on our website. Simply
Click here.

Regulatory Reminder: Supervision of Children 417.8 (a)

Children cannot be left without competent supervision at any time. Competent supervision includes awareness of and responsibility for the ongoing activity of each child. It requires that all children be within a caregiver's range of vision except as provided in section 417.8(b) of this Part and that the caregiver be near enough to respond when redirection or intervention strategies are needed. Competent supervision must take into account the child's age, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE COUNCIL

We're Less than 3 Months Away!

Tickets are on Sale Now

We are hard at work preparing an evening to remember, our 50th Anniversary Celebration. Don't miss the opportunity to celebrate the Council and our special honorees!

Dr. Marsha Gordon

Business Visionary Honoree

Clarfeld Financial Advisors

Give Local Leaders Honoree

Peter Edelman & Marian Wright Edelman

Child Advocacy Pioneer Honorees

Join us on October 18th, 2018 at Captain Lawrence Brewery.
Click here to register.

View Our 50th Anniversary Announcement!

Encourage and Inspire

Students to Volunteer

Thank you Isaiah for your help with the Council's Book Drive

Volunteering is more than spending one's time participating in selfless acts or activities that benefit other people. Volunteering has a great impact on society as a whole and students enhance their skills, knowledge, and experience. Volunteers provide critical help to community organizations like the Council. Let's encourage more students to take advantage of volunteer opportunities.

If you or someone you know cares about children and would like to lend us a hand, contact Juanita Pope at (914) 761-3456

Our new Council shirts are here! We are excited to sport our #GetSmartChildCare shirts as we are out and about at community events. Don't forget to come see how cool we look and to find out how we can help you.

Wow! Going through files and we found the best #TBT! This picture is from 1988, and on the left is our very own Director of Provider Services, Dorothy Jenkins. Dorothy (DJ) has been with the Council since 1986! How time flies when you're having fun!

Welcome New & Renewed

Child Care Programs!

New

Family Day Care Programs

My Little World

Welcome New CACFP Participants

Juan Moreno

Congratulations to Our Latest CDA Course Student Who Received the

CDA Credential

These early childhood professionals completed a Child Care Council CDA course and then went on to receive the Child Development Associate credential from the Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, DC. They have worked hard to improve their skills and knowledge of working with young children. The children in their care, their parents, and their programs are very fortunate to have such dedicated professionals working with them.

Congratulations to these students in--

The Council's In-Person Infant Toddler Class

Elfa Doris Calderon

The Council's online CDA cours

Jeanette Mussuto

To find out more about the CDA credential or for information about the Council's CDA classes, please contact Idie Benjamin, Director of Professional Development at
idieb@cccwny.org

CHILDREN'S CORNER

It's Hot! Let's Get Wet!

It is summer, and nothing says summer fun like playing in water. And children are not just splashing, they are learning so much! Water play is open ended - there are no right answers, just explorations and investigations.

Remember- Safety First At All Times! Children must be supervised closely at all times. A young child can drown in less than 2 inches of water. Infants and toddlers can safely play in small amounts of water only if an adult is with them at all times.

What are children learning when they play in water?

Fine Motor Skills - Water play encourages the development of eye/hand coordination through pouring, squeezing, stirring, painting, scrubbing, and squirting.

Concepts - Children begin to understand and experiment with concepts such as more/less, same/different, many/few, empty/full, before/after, greater than/less than, and counting.

Social and Emotional Development- Water is relaxing and soothing. Children become less tense when they release their emotions with pouring, pounding, and swooshing. They practice playing cooperatively, negotiating and sharing.

Language Development- Children learn new words - sieve, funnel, eggbeater, splash, pour, bubbly - and have conversations with adults and other children.

Creativity- Children use their imaginations as they cook, create mud castles, or wash cars.

Click here for more information on water play, and some great suggestions!

Welcome Sarah Merrifield, our new Resource and Referral Counselor. Sarah is available to
educate parents about child care, provide appropriate referrals, and maintain our database of programs and providers. Call her at (914)761-3456 x122 to learn how she can help you.

Hear from our Employees

"What I like best about working at the Council is knowing the work we do helps to improve the lives of children and families in our community." - Lindsay Tiernan, Assistant Director of Provider Services

"Overall, the Council is an amazing place to work with supportive staff and a mission that touches the lives of so many people in Westchester. However, the most touching moments I have experienced here have been because of their flexibility and support when it comes to their staff's personal lives. This sets them apart from any other place I've worked." - Michelle Guena, Communications Associate

Council Staff

Summer Outing

We enjoyed some time out of the office with our Annual Summer outing at the Dobbs Ferry Waterfront Park with sun, games, laughter and a great barbecue!

A very special thank you to Jason Thomas, Legally Exempt Enroller aka our Grill Master. Not even the 90+ degrees weather kept him from working hard.

We're Looking for a Few Good Women & Men

Come to work at the Child Care Council and make a difference in the life of a child. We currently have the following openings:

The Parent Helpline can help you find programs and services in your community that can help. 1-800-CHILDREN is a multi-lingual information and referral service for anyone who has questions or concerns about a child or family.

We still have free paper to give to your program! Stop in at any time Monday through Friday (9am-5pm) and pick some up!

Opportunities to Connect With Colleagues!

Regular meetings at the Council for family providers, early childhood directors, and school age directors provide opportunities for you to learn, share resources and support one another. These meetings are also an avenue to increase your knowledge. Each one includes a training that provides a certificate accepted by OCFS.

Providers Network:

This group for registered family and licensed group family providers meets 4 times a year. Elizabeth Knowles of Little House Day Care is the coordinator and can be contacted at 914-967-2707 or
Elizabeth@littlehousedc.com

Westchester Early Childhood Directors Association:

The Association meets the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 1:00- 3:00pm. Contact Howard Milbert at Ossining Children's Center at (914) 941-0230 or Dawn Meyerski at Mt. Kisco Child Care Center at (914) 241-2135 or
dmeyerski@mkccc.org for details.

School Age Directors Network:

The Network meets the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 10:00am-12:00pm. Contact Joanne Saporta at Chappaqua Childrens Workshop at
general@ccwkids.org or Lynn Lutomski at Irvington Children's Center at
iccchildcare@aol.com for more details.

Please note the networking groups do not meet in July and August.

The Council is pleased to host these groups. We encourage you to attend their meetings.

Promote Your Business Here

Many child care providers run alternate businesses. Do you provide another service or sell a product? We would love to hear about it and share with others in the child care community. Let's help build successful businesses together. To share, email Juanita Pope at juanitap@cccwny.org

August 11th is

National Play in the

Sand Day!

Enjoy playing in the sand on August 11th or any day for that matter. Sand play helps develop fine motor skills, a sense of textures, and many other skills. Don't have a beach to visit? Bring some sand into your sensory table and let your children explore!

TD will make an annual contribution to the Council based on the activity of all participating members' TD accounts. If you are already a customer, or wish to open an account, visit any of their locations and ask to be included in the Affinity Program to benefit the Council.